Stage Royalty - Blog

Theatershows for schools

Mon, 24 Aug 2026 19:46:20 GMT

As a playwright I started writing long shows for theater. And I still do as I’m currently working on a story about two sisters. But for the past three years I have written some scripts for educational shows for schools in the Dutch language region. These are some examples.

In the footsteps of your ancestors

Fri, 21 Aug 2026 19:45:12 GMT

The young Hungarian Jew Klayn was deported to Auschwitz in August 1944. The 15-year-old had a knack for languages, which helped him escape the gas chamber. He translated documents and served as an interpreter for the nazi-administration.

Casual Friday

Wed, 12 Aug 2026 20:25:34 GMT

As the city bus passes, he steps off the curb and crosses just behind the huge vehicle. The bridge ahead glistens faintly under the streetlights, a thin mist rising from the canal below. Across the street, he turns left, and quickly paces into the city’s still sleeping heart.

A story about survival

Wed, 05 Aug 2026 19:55:02 GMT

What makes someone Dutch? Can you be Dutch if you weren’t born in the Netherlands? If not, what are you then, if your country of birth no longer exists? Free in Amsterdam Ksenia was born in Kharkiv in eastern Ukraine, which was then part of the Soviet Union. Her father is Russian, from St.

The parades weren’t about votes

Wed, 17 Jun 2026 19:10:49 GMT

The German city of Nuremberg played a central role in the history of the Nazis. Before World War II, the NSDAP used the city to hold massive propaganda rallies (the Reich Party Rallies). After the war, Nuremberg became the very place where the Allies put a number of Nazi leaders on trial.

Android Paranoid

Fri, 17 Apr 2026 14:34:58 GMT

In “Theater het Kruispunt” in Barendrecht I experienced a fantastic tribute to Radiohead by Chicago-based formation Android Paranoid. The group of five played two intense and packed sets of each apx 75 minutes.

For eternity

Tue, 10 Feb 2026 12:34:27 GMT

“There are too many signals that this is what I want, so I’m just going to do it.” That’s what you wrote when you announced going solo on May 9th 2024. In the pre-olympic year you chose to follow your heart and go your own way.

Allergic to peanuts

Wed, 14 Jan 2026 20:52:34 GMT

It’s the early 1990s when I meet Joey at a birthday party. He has a flashy job title and works at a large corporation. I, by contrast, am just starting out as a solo-entrepreneur. I’m young, inexperienced, but full of energy. I see endless of opportunities but also face many challenges.

Unicycling

Thu, 06 Nov 2025 20:16:03 GMT

There are countless unicycle competitions worldwide every year, both regional and national, even intercontinental. Every two years there is a world championship. In 2026, it will be held in Austria, and the organizers expect between 2,500 and 3,500 participants. These are fanatical multicultural events.

The day everything changed

Tue, 07 Oct 2025 11:38:29 GMT

The day everything changed is a graphic novel-style anthology that tells 10 personal histories of October 7 2023. The stories focus on hope and resilience, it’s not about despair or hate. It’s about finding light in the darkest of times. The book truly illustrates the power of an optimistic spirit.

A kid from Marlboro Road

Mon, 22 Sep 2025 13:13:28 GMT

A novel by Edward Burns about Irish Catholic migrants. The first of a trilogy.

War Up Close

Fri, 19 Sep 2025 22:04:13 GMT

It’s the titel of a play by Ksenia Marasanova, directed by Paul Dekker. In Dutch: “Zij zagen Oorlog“. I produce the show and helped with some texts. War Up Close shows war from all angles, through the eyes of people that are about to make a choice and have to live with the consequences.

Red shadows in the Berlin Volkspark

Sun, 07 Sep 2025 17:39:32 GMT

Short story Early on a September morning, Lior cuts through Volkspark Friedrichshain on his way to Ding Dong Ping Pong. The air carries the scent of rain on stone, and faintly, children’s laughter drifts between the trees. Sunlight brushes lightly over leaves and flowers, promising another warm day.

Arabian Sands

Thu, 04 Sep 2025 13:21:55 GMT

Great travel book by Wilfred Thesiger covering desert-cultures and the Bedu way of life. It’s about friendship, history and how global developments destroyed a centuries old culture.

True value

Wed, 03 Sep 2025 11:17:58 GMT

For over an hour Benjamin Herman and the Robin Nolan Trio played their hearts out at the Jazz Festival. Afterwards, they presented their new album. You could have a chat with them. And take your picture with them, if you wanted.

Stalin is dead

Tue, 02 Sep 2025 12:00:30 GMT

From the department of classic jokes The Soviet nation decides to get rid of him once and for all, and wants to bury him as far away as possible. They set up a special commission tasked with finding a suitable location.

The Tao of Pooh

Fri, 29 Aug 2025 13:15:16 GMT

An introduction to Taoism by Benjamin Hoff.

Unicycle Trials – GUC 2025

Wed, 27 Aug 2025 22:58:36 GMT

I don’t have that much experience with sports-photography, as theater and festivals are the arenas I’m used to. Through the years I made a lot of photos of my daughter Sofia and her unicycle of course, but never covered a whole event a lot of athletes, all with different techniques and timing.

Prison romanticism

Mon, 25 Aug 2025 22:32:57 GMT

The fairytale forest villages usually have no more than a few hundred permanent residents. Some even less than hundred. In the summer, that number grows by several thousand. Between May and November the city-dwellers escape the hustle and bustle and seek out their picturesque country homes.

Books

Fri, 22 Aug 2025 12:57:50 GMT

Yes, that actually is one of my book drawers. I have a few of them. And stacks with books. And chests with books. And a lot of e-books and audio books. I read a lot, on average some two books a week. I will keep a list with books that touched me.

Always trust the specialist

Thu, 21 Aug 2025 17:29:43 GMT

“Uzbekistan? But that’s not very close, is it?” I hear myself asking the question, while I try to pinpoint the country on the world map that I envision in my head. So there is Armenia, then we have the Caspian Sea followed by Kazakhstan with a bunch of countries to the south and east.

Is the blog back?

Tue, 19 Aug 2025 10:50:02 GMT

Yes, but differently. In one way or the other, I ran an active blog between 1994 and 2018-ish. It was a mix of articles (in Dutch and English) on things that triggered me: equality, history, philosophy, plays, books, politics, some hardware, education, jokes and activities around my companies. That blog is still there, but private.